Our Maccabi is Making a Hanukkah Slam Dunk

Shalom Yeladim:


I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgivukkah celebration.  Now it's on to a slam dunk for the Maccabim at the White House.

I know that our Prime Minister tried doing a full court press in the Iran arena, but let's put politics aside and enjoy our 21st century Maccabi hero. Maybe you've read about him? His name is Omri Caspi. This is Omri when he played for Maccabi Tel Aviv back in 2005.

Today he's a big-time NBA star playing for the Houston Rockets, and guess what? President Obama has invited him to the White House to light a Hanukkah candle. I may be wrong, but I read that the lighting ceremony is going to be held this coming Thursday. Omri is real excited.  He says that it gives him a chance to represent Israel AND the entire Jewish community -- that means in the United States and Israel, and hey, all over the world! I am sooo proud and so is his mother Ilana, who is visiting him right now in Texas. Omri is such a good son, he's taking Mama with him to the White House. 

Like me, Omri is no fly-by-night.  This is his 5th year in the NBA -- and this is my 4th year writing this blog. 

See you soon Omri!

Photo credit

Even I'm Getting Ready for Thanksgivukkah!!!!

Shalom Yeladim:


I know you can't wait for this year's Hanukkah-Thanksgiving celebration. Even I'm invited to a Thanksgivukkah dinner! Can you believe? Yup 6,000 miles away and I'm going to be eating הודו for Hanukkah. Have your teachers told you that the word הודו has a double meaning? It's the word for turkey and it also means thanks, so this Hebrew word is going to have a special place in your joint celebration.

What else am I going to do? Watch Hanukkah shows like this one on TV, go to a Hanukkah play -- there are so many to see.......

And, I'm going to hear The Fountainheads sing about Hanukkah. I love them. They are sooo cool.

Boy, am I going to gobble up this holiday! BTW, for an added Israeli twist try this step-by-step recipe for cranberry jelly sufganiyot.

!חג חנוכה שמח



Hanukkah Poster Credit

I'm Going to the Annual Olive Branch Festival So I Can Stock Up On Olive Oil For Hanukkah

Shalom Girls and Boys:


It's olive harvest time and Hanukkah is in the air. That's why I'm flying up North to the Annual Olive Branch Festival.  In between hiking -- O.K. flying -- and jeep tours, I'm going to learn how to pick and press olives.

Harvesting olives has been going on for thousands of years in the Land of Israel.  Have you ever seen an olive tree? They're kinda short and wide like this olive tree in the Galilee which is sooo old they call it ancient.

If you think the oil miracle we celebrate on Hanukkah was vegetable or soy oil, you're wrong.  It was olive oil, of course. That makes sense since olives are one of the seven species mentioned in the Bible. 

Olives are so rooted to our land that we even have a mountain called Mount of Olives because it once was covered with olive groves. And olive oil? It's about as Israeli as you can get. In fact, anything olive is -- olives, olive branches, olive colored army uniforms.  Have a look at our state emblem and this stamp from Israel's early years. 

Both have olive branches in their design, very much like the olive branch the dove brought back to Noah --  another Biblical connection!

Enough talk. Gotta go. I have to get to the Olive Branch Festival on time if I'm going to have enough olive oil for Hanukkah. I love lighting my Hanukkiah because olive oil is easily drawn into the wicks, creating a clear, bright light.  Do you see what I mean?

Wish me luck in becoming the best olive picker and presser around.

Le'Hitraot.....

Zvuvi

Tree Photo Credit

Stamp Photo Credit

Hanukkiah Photo Credit

Puff...Puff...I'm Getting in Shape for the Hanukkah Relay Race

Sh-aaa-lom Yeh--la--dim:

Wow I'm out of shape! All this wing flapping exercise for the Hanuukah relay race is taking the wind out of me -- and that's not good, 'cause wind is supposed to speed me up.

I know, I know....you think that the Hanukkah torch relay race which begins in modern Modi'in (the ancient Maccabees' home town)

and ends at 

The Western/Wailing Wall

is only for people, but hey -- we flies have a life too! And with all the eating and feasting we've just done for the holidays (not to mention every Shabbat), it doesn't hurt to burn off some calories.

The first Hanukkah torch relay race in Israel took place in 1948 -- the same year Israel became an independent country. I just found this article, so you can read all about it.

Today, Jewish communities all over the world are creating their own Hanukkah relay races. For example, Jews living in the the Czech Republic did it last year. They had fun being Maccabee runners and I'm sure you will too. Personally, I think you should hold this race. Not only is it fun and a good way to stay in shape, but ordinarily the usual menu for Hanukkah is a few doughnuts and latkes. But this year you guys in America have a doubleheader with Hanukkah and Thanksgiving falling on the same day. You know what that means! Another eat as much as you can feast. 

Instead of getting hot and bothered about how much weight you're going to gain, get fired up about being a Maccabee runner. 

Hope your team wins.

Almost forgot. Here's a Hanukkah trivia quiz you can take while you're resting in-between races.

Good Luck! בהצלחה 

Zvuvi

Modi'in photo credit

Western Wall photo credit

Haifa's Multi-Cultural Holiday Lessons

Shalom Girls and Boys:

It's December 25th all over the world. It's the fifth day of Hanukkah.  It's also Christmas day.  I think it's important that we respect each other and I wanted to get some good tips on how to do it. So I just surfed the net, and you wouldn't believe!  I found the coolest way to be ecumenical (ask your parents or your teachers what that means) and it happened last year in Israel!

I'm going to take you back to the terrible Carmel Forest fire last December. A forest is a source for Christmas trees. The Carmel Forest is right next door to the Israeli city of Haifa -- a city where not only Jews live, but also Christians and Muslims.

Bet you didn't know that. In fact, I bet you don't know that Christians make up 2% of Israel's population.  Think about it. It makes sense. The story of Christmas did take place here, in The Holy Land.

But back to Haifa. Every year it wants its Christian residents to feel at home, so it puts up a huge Christmas tree. Last year's fire burned out all hopes for a tree, so a clever Israeli artist came up with the idea of creating a tree out of recycled plastic bottles like this one.


Haifa's Jews, Muslims and Christians contributed bottles.  It was a real joint effort and a great example of ecumenism (remember, I told you to find out what that word means). It attracted a lot of attention all over the world, and a British newspaper interviewed the artist and made a video clip all about it.

This year Haifa has a real tree. It's also holding its 18th annual Holiday of Holidays Festival. Eighteen -- that's Chai (life in Hebrew), and I hope this festival has a long life because it's all about religious tolerance. Remember I said Haifa's population is mostly Jewish but that it also has Muslims and Christians living in it? Well, each of these religions is celebrating a special holiday this month. Hanukkah and Christmas, plus the Muslim holiday, Eid Al-Adha, which has a connection with Abraham. Do you realize that he wasn't only the father of our people? We are descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac, but remember Abraham's other son Ishmael?  The Muslims are his descendants. That means we're cousins, which means we should at least be tolerant of each other. But I don't want to get into that. I'm more interested in something else that unites us --- FOOD. If this Holiday of Holidays Festival is celebrating three different holidays, that means three different types of food. So tell me, what am I doing shmoozing with you like this when I could be eating????


Gotta fly...Zvuvi


Photo Credit

Judah Maccabee Slept Here

Shalom Girls & Boys:

Today I'm going to be your flyguide and take you to the city of Modiin.

Once upon a time Judah Maccabee slept here, and so did his father Mattathias and all of his brothers.  They began their revolt against the Greek rulers in this city.  I don't have to tell you the story of Hanukkah. I bet you're learning it right now. But because Hanukkah is also called the Holiday of Lights, I want to show you how beautiful Modiin looks when it's lit up at night.

Modiin is the miracle city in the middle of Israel -- right between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Over 74,000 people live there.  Many new olim (immigrants) from the United States move here. Most are young families. The mayor and his staff work here, in this modern City Hall.

Even though Modiin is a cool, 21st century city, it is still VERY respectful of its past. That's why men, women and children enjoy participating in archaeological digs during vacation time.

They are proud of what professional archaeologists have dug up. Take a look at the synagogue floor archaeologists found dating all the way back to the time of Judah Maccabee.

And signs of Judah Maccabee himself? Sorry, I can't show you exactly where he slept, but how about where he is buried?

Are these the REAL graves of the Maccabees? Some say YES, but many archaeologists say NO...and that's the mystery we're working on now.
Maybe I'll have the answer for you next year. For now, Happy Hanukkah from the city where the story of Hanukkah began, and thank you Modiin city for the pictures on your website. Special thanks to Modiin Councilman Alex Weinreb for his photos of the Maccabee graves, ancient synagogue floor, and this photo of a rainbow over Modiin. (I don't get it. Did Noah land his ark in Modiin???? Gota check that out!)

This Week I Took a Bus and the GOOD MANNERS POLICE Got On

Shalom Yeladim,

Yes, I know Hanukkah is only a few days away. And yes, I could tell you all about the wonderful Hanukkah events held for children in Israel – like the Festigal which is the best-ever musical event for kids held every year on Hanukkah. Or I could tell you about the Hanukkah programs that are going to be held at different museums and parks throughout the country. But I’m not.

This time I’m going to look at the buses that many kids take to get to these events and the new Good Manners Police that gets on these buses to make sure everyone behaves. This new squad is called the Mishtarbus and they just began patrolling the buses a few weeks ago. The name Mishtarbus comes from two words. The word mishtara means police, and the word bus…well I don’t have to tell you what that means.

Several college students from a Tel Aviv college started the Mishtarbus. The reason they did is because Israelis are not exactly known to be the most polite people. Helpful yes, but polite? Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh…we’re still learning. But something even worse has happened. Respecting old people is a very important rule in the Jewish tradition and it used to be especially important in Israel. Over the last five years a lot of that respect got lost, especially on the buses. Maybe it’s because everyone is too busy playing games on their hand-held computer gadgets or listening to their MP3s and iPods? Whatever the reason is, the young people in Israel don’t exactly show their best side when riding buses.

Now the Mishtarbus is going to change that. They’ve started out in Tel Aviv, getting on heavily travelled buses. They don’t look like regular police. Their “uniform” is pants and a T-shirt that says Mishtarbus in Hebrew. If they see a Senior Citizen standing, they tap the shoulder of someone much younger, asking them to please get up and give the Senior a seat. Fighting noise pollution inside buses is another one of their goals. If a mobile ringtone is loud they ask you to please lower it. If you’re talking OUT LOUD on your mobile they ask you to please end your conversation. If your friend is sitting in the row across from you and you lean over, bothering the passenger next to you, and start chattering away, they immediately put a stop to that, using the word please, of course, because that’s also a word Israeli youngsters have to learn.

It’s unbelievable! I don’t know if I’m going to recognize riding on a bus anymore. But you know what? It’s about time! Buses are public places and we have to learn to respect everyone – especially the elderly! After all, we’re a Jewish state and part of being Jewish means just that.

So, this Hanukkah I’m looking forward to taking the bus to the Festigal and all the other fun activities.

Hanukkah Sameach…Zvuvi

I’m Going to Take a Spin on Israel’s Largest Dreidel

Shalom Yeladim:

I’m flying to Caesarea, the ancient Israeli city named for Julius Caesar. It’s one of the coolest cities in Israel. Cool – because it’s a really old port city with a fresh sea breeze, and cool because of all the unbelievable statues, palace ruins, hippodrome and Roman amphitheater that archaeologists have found.

But that’s not why I’m flying there this time. I’m going for another cool reason. I’m going to take a spin on Israel’s largest dreidel. After all, Hanukkah is just 2 ½ weeks away and I have to get in shape for all the dreidel playing. By the way, do you know the difference between your dreidel and ours? Your dreidel has the letters Nune, Gimmel, Hey and Shin for Neis Gadol Hayah Sham, meaning “a big miracle happened there”. Our dreidel doesn’t have a shin. It has a peh. Because you gotta admit that Neis Gadol Hayah Poh – “a big miracle happened here”.

But let’s get back to this huge, gigantic, unbelievably tall dreidel. It’s 18 feet high and it stands – when it’s not spinning – right next to the Caesarea train station. I know, I know, you’re going to ask why I don’t take the train. But I’m a fly. Remember? And flies have to fly. Which is why I can go all the way high on top of the dreidel.

This dreidel was made by a dreidel artist. Yup, his name is Eran Grebler and all he does is make dreidels. Well, almost. He also makes Hannukiot. But Hanukkah is his thing, and his “Dreidel House” is also located in Caeserea. I’m going to make that my second stop. Everything spins there…the potters wheel where the dreidels are formed…the finished dreidels all around, even other Hanukkah spin-off products.

Speaking of spin-off products for Hanukkah gifts – what about me and my book? You gotta admit, I’m so hyper I make your head spin. But hey, I’m the funnest fly around (OK, OK, funniest). You can buy my book at Kar-Ben’s online book store, or at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders. Or you can ask your local Judaica store.
Gotta spin…Zvuvi